Zanzibar servaline genet

The closest known relative of the Zanzibar servaline genet is Lowe's servaline genet, G. s. lowei, a subspecies which is found in the Eastern Arc Mountains of mainland Tanzania. These two animals have presumably been evolving independently since at least the end of the last ice age, when Unguja was separated from continental Africa by rising sea levels. The survival of the servaline genet on the island parallels that of the endemic Zanzibar leopard, and the Zanzibar red colobus. == Discovery and description ==

Although the servaline was known to rural Zanzibaris, zoologists remained unaware of its existence until the last decade of the 20th century. In 1995 Tony Archer, a wildlife consultant working in Zanzibar, acquired a dried skin and skull in the village of Kitogani, in south-central Unguja. This specimen was subsequently described as a new subspecies of servaline genet (G. s. archeri), named in honour of Archer. == References ==